What are you doing here? A Black Woman’s Life and Liberation in Heavy Metal

This goes straight on the to-read list: In What are you doing here? A Black Woman’s Life and Liberation in Heavy Metal Laina Dawes writes about here experiences being black, female and a die hard fan of Heavy Metal – NPR and Soundcheck have interviews with the author.

Laina Dawes is not always the only black woman at metal shows, and she’s not always the only headbanger among her black female friends. In her first book, the Canadian critic and music fan questions herself, her headbanging heroes, and dozens of black punk, metal, and hard rock fans to answer the knee-jerk question she’s heard a hundred times in the small clubs where her favorite bands play: “What are you doing here?” – amazon.com

Hey cool! I’m totally reading this. People are always surprised that I’m a heavy metal fan because I don’t necessarily “look” like one. Society needs to realize that people get sick of being told what we’re supposed to like, want, and be.